


Of Witches and Men

by kittencauldrone



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M, Non Canonical Immortal, Old Souls, Werewolf Jade, new vampire dave, witch john
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-17 04:21:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11267832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittencauldrone/pseuds/kittencauldrone





	Of Witches and Men

The old wooden floor boards creaked beneath his bare feet. It was almost a satisfying sound, one of comfort. The wooden was worn out from the years of people coming and going, said to be the original flooring from when the house was built. A smile crept across the owner’s face, he lived alone, or so he thought. Like anyone who’s gotten the jitters after a scary movie, he’d hear something go bump in the night or in the middle of the day depending on how he felt that day. 

The house seemed alive almost with it's own infused magic of those who used to live there. He would know. He could feel it. He was a witch. As he got older and humanity stayed the same he grew to love the very souls who used to hunt him for being just a magical being. He’d seen war, famine, destruction and chaos among humanity and he wouldn’t trade it for anything. He guided humans in troubling times, brought comfort to the dying and healing to the sick. And he’d seen new souls come back again and again and become old souls.

Humans were in themselves flawed, but he saw them as flawless. They never lived long enough to see that history repeats itself or realize they may be harming others and themselves. He very seldom had visitors to his comfortable home. He’d lived in the same spot for a very long time now and the locals knew he’d be there far longer after they were gone. But nevertheless he so enjoyed humanity and all it's flaws. Humans were precious. It was always fun to see and old soul in a new face.

Such was the case, when an old friend would stop by in a new body, new memories and new experiences. One old friend was now a young girl named Jade, she was bit by a werewolf and came to him for help. Which he delighted helped her as much as he could, but sadly there is no cure for werewolf bites. Although a few potions make it a more manageable conditions. Jade would visit ever so often to get refills on her medicine or just to visit. She was the reincarnated soul of someone he hadn’t seen in a very long time.

“What was I like before?” Jade would ask.” Where did we meet? How?”

The witch would smile,” You were a monk in China when we first met. I was weary from traveling and had collapsed on the side of the road. You had been running an errand for your temple. You picked me up and showed me kindness. Even after learning I was not of this mortal world your friendship remained the same. We were good friends until your death.”

“I see. What did we look like back then, Mr. Egbert?” Jade sat on the edge of her seat with a big grin.” I’m dying to know!”

“Oh please, call me John.” he chuckled.” Let me see…. I was only two centuries old back then. We looked like… This. Ah here it is.” with slow motion he brought a book floating down on the table and flipped to an old ink painting of him and Jade in her former monk body.” That there is you. Your name was Yu, it means Jade or delightful or even rain.”

She stared at the picture in wonder, she had been a tall skinny, yet humble looking monk and next to her stood John, who looked much younger,” Omg! You had such a baby face!”

“Was it that bad?” John chuckled lightly touching his jaw.” I only was trying to look as the locals did. Which wasn’t hard considering I was born in what’s now known as the pacific islands.”

Jade laughed,” Was this your teenaged years? Were you a trouble maker? Did you get in trouble a lot?”

“Yes, no and kinda.” John answered, picking up his book taking the painting with.

“Hey who’s that?” Jade picked up a Polaroid of John and someone else.” Another old friend?”

She waved it in his face just long enough for him to realize what photo she was holding,” Yes, an old friend.”

“Oh I touched a nerve, sorry.” Jade apologized.

“It's alright. The 70’s were a strange and very alive time for humanity.” John sighed, putting the book up. He looked no different from a 28 year old, and kept up with himself. He enjoyed when Jade visited but every so often things that should be left alone get touched upon. “ Here’s this month’s dose.” He set a bag in front of her.” It’s getting late, you should head home before it gets too dark.”

Jade looked at the clock on the wall and gasped,” You’re right! Thank you John, I’ll be back soon!”

“Take care now, Jade.” John walked her out and made sure she got in her car and went up the path alright. He closed his door and sighed with relief. “ Fate has a funny way of bringing you up, doesn’t it?”

The witch went to retrieve the photo once more. A dark haired man with aviator shades was hanging onto him in the picture. An old friend indeed.” I’m sure this means something.”

He began muttering to himself as he shuffled about his home. He picked up this and that, books on reading signs and spells. He thought back on the time and shook his head, it had been a once in a life time thing. A fluke, and the stars said so. “Maybe it's another fluke. What does the gods have to say about this…”

He mumbled sitting at his crystal ball just as the sun disappeared from view and the stars came out. He was about to focus when someone came barging in with an imposing presence. 

“ Hello? Can someone help me?” called a desperate voice, shaking. John stood up, he could smell blood. He rushed to his front door to see a tall blonde man in aviator shades standing there in the doorway with blood gushing down his neck.” Help…”

“Oh my gods…” John gasped. The man was pale, breathing heavily, his wound only seemed to be a small bite. But as soon as the witch saw the stranger he knew. It was his fluke. His once in a lifetime fluke, standing in his doorway wounded. 

“I, uh… Think I was bit by something not human.” said the man, wobbling.” Kinda losing a lot of blood here.”

“Right!” John snapped out of it and rushed to the man’s aide. 

 

 

One long night later, John sat down next to the guest bed with his visitor passed out there.” You won’t wake up until this evening, but… I know your soul. I don’t want to freak you out as you don’t seem to be the kind of person to believe in this kind of stuff, just like before.” he sighed,” I always said our meeting was a fluke, yet here you are again.Two life times later.” he looked over his visitor and said,” Rest, we can talk later.”

And he was more or less saying to himself more than the sleeping blonde in his guest bedroom. He left the room and busied himself with that day’s chores. Which was easy enough for him, he had a few mundane things around the house to do as well as send out a few deliveries. He sent a note with them apologizing he couldn’t deliver it in person as he was dealing with a victim of a vampire at the moment so he sent it via magic basket. Which was swift and efficient thankfully, and those who received his goods didn’t mind it at all. 

The witch wasn’t surprised to find the sun had gone down when he finally settled down for the day. He was sitting at his desk reading over an old book and taking notes as it had taken him sometime to get his hands on a copy of this particular book. He heard movement in his home, he knew his visitor was up. It only took a few moments for the vampire bite victim to find him in his study.

“Come in, sit down. You have questions, yes?” John said calmly not looking up from writing.

“How did you--”

“When your house is quite as mine and you’ve lived as long as I have, you just know when your guest has woken up.” He answered, setting his pin down as the man sat down in the chair in front of the desk.” Now, you were bit by something.”

“Yeah, I uh.. Think it was a big bug?” the man shrugged.

“I guess you could put it that way.” John chuckled and made a simple hand motion. A book came down from the bookshelf and landed open in front of the witch.” And before you ask, yes I am a magical being you thought didn’t exist, I would prefer to be known as John, and you are in my home because you were bit by a vampire.”

“W-What, no, it was just…” the man looked confused.

John sighed,” let’s just get through the basics. Your name please.”

“Dave… Dave Strider.”

“Age?”

“27.”

“Can you state where you are.”

“Some creepy cabin in the woods.”

John looked up briefly from writing down this information,” You find my home creepy?”

“It's old, never seen it before and I know this forest like the back of my hand.” Dave told him.

“Uh-huh.” the witch’s nose twitched in annoyance.

“Oh don’t be annoyed, what do you expect someone like me to say?!”

“I never said anything about being bothered, Dave.” John chuckled.” What made you seek help here?”

“I don’t… I don’t remember.”

John got out of his seat and went over to the man.” Please remove your sunglasses.”

“No.”

“That’s fine.” John checked Dave’s pulse and looking over him.” Are you feeling tired, hungry, or fatigued?”

“Whatever you're wearing smells really good, did you make something?” Dave admitted.

“That would be my blood. I’m not wearing anything that smells. And I made sure to shower and wash off all scents on me before you woke up.” John explained, tilting Dave’s head this way and that,” You, sir, are a vampire. I’ve seen this before. You were someone’s meal and escaped. Throughout the day as you were sleeping you ended up transforming from the venom in your system.”

“What, no. that shit ain’t real. Don’t play.” Dave protested.

“Dave, how old do you think I am?”

“Like 30?”

“Funny.” John sighed.” I’m going to show you something and I want you to describe what you see.” Another small motion and the picture Jade had discovered earlier came to John’s hand,” I’m not giving you any information, please describe to me what you see or think is going on.”

He presented the Polaroid to the new vampire and Dave gawked at it for a moment,” I remember that night. We were at a party of some friend of a friend’s. We were having so much fun that I never wanted that night to end. But it did.”

“We?”

“Don’t play dumb Egbert, that was the most amazing night of our lives!” Dave exclaimed then covered his mouth.” Wait… This if from like the 70s or something… Why would I know this.”

“Your soul is older than you think.” John explained.” Just be calm. You didn’t believe me then but I’m sure this will make you believe now.”

Some explanation later, Dave sat there, mouth agape at the information he’d been given. John let Dave have some space as the new vampire decided he needed to go home and think things over.

John let him, it was better to let his old friend do so as he remembered how stubborn he was when it came to new ideas. Of course he would have to check on the new immortal sooner or later, but for now he left Dave alone.

 

Dave certainly was taking his time, enough time that John was forced to go out of his way to find where the new vampire lived and check on him. Unfortunately, as he was making his own deliveries, his customers warned him to be safe as a blood sucker had appeared on the scene and was terrorizing the outskirts of town. 

John was able to find where Dave Strider lived and found the apartment in disarray.” Oh dear. He’s hungry…” he said examining the broken glass of the window.” Luck for him, this isn’t my first time dealing with someone like him.”

John traced a faint trail that lead to the forest from the apartment. It was daylight so Dave would be hiding, unless he was hungry enough to dare to hunt in the day. The witch found an area where the new vampire had been most, as there were a few dead animals drained of blood around. “A new vampire’s hunger is almost unending.”

“Dave!” John called,” It's alright, it's just me. I know you’re here.”

He stood still to listen, Dave must’ve thought he was being sneaky, but he wasn’t. John could hear every movement the blonde made. A few twigs cracked in the shade in front of him and then a rush. The witch came face to face with a wide-eyed vampire. John held him at an arm’s length away and spoke calmly,” Dave, I can’t have you running around scaring people.”

“That’s not me!” Dave told him desperately, but the hunger showed in his eyes and he was obviously holding himself back from sinking his new found fangs into John’s flesh.” I don’t… I don’t even remember how I got here.”

John looked not amused,” Liar.”

“Am not!”

“I can always tell when you’re lying , you’ve never been any good at it anyhow.” the witch drummed his fingers impatiently on Dave’s arm.” You’re hungry. You’ve been up for days.”

“Don’t patronize me, you don’t know me.” Dave snarled.

“You’re covered in blood and you stink like you haven’t showered since you left my ‘creepy cabin’.” John stated.” Right now I can tell you are attracted by the smell of my blood and you’re trying your best to weasel your way into your next meal.”

Dave looked surprised and slumped in defeat.” Fuck you got me.”

“Come on. Lets get you cleaned up and fed right.” John said kindly, and slowly escorted the new vampire back to his home.

It was never easy dealing with a turned human, as they never knew when to stop eating. Dave was no exception, although he was handling all this surprisingly well as John stood headstrong against his insistence to get at his neck. 

“Shower first.” it was the condition before Dave was allowed to eat.

“Dry your hair properly, you’re immortal but not impervious to catching a cold.” Was another.

“I’m tending to more important matters, wait.” John told the blonde while he had his back turned. 

A few more excuses later Dave was now playing nice. John sat down at his desk and opened his journal to Dave’s page.” I have a few more questions for you, Mr. Strider.”

“Will you let me eat already?” he whined.

“Dave, you know how i feel about whining.” John said firmly,” Now, do you know what day it is?”

“It’s uh… Oh man what is today?”

“It's Tuesday June 10th 2022, you’ve been scrounging for two weeks.” John told him.” Now, do you recall anything from the past two weeks?”

“Not much.” Dave admitted.”I remember getting home and then… Getting hungry so I tried eating some leftover pizza, but i couldn’t and then… everything went black.”

John nodded, writing everything down, causing the new vampire to be curious and tried to peak at what he’d was writing about him. When he looked the letters looked foreign and he couldn’t read any of it. “I’m writing in runes, you can’t read it unless you know the runic alphabet.”The witch told him.” Even then, it's hard to read unless you’ve had a long practice with it.”

“So, uh… Am I allowed to eat yet? Will you explain more to me?” Dave asked.” my life has kinda.. Been flipped upside down here, man, i’m kinda freaking out.”

“You have questions and you’re uncertain of things.” John smiled, inviting him closer,” You may drink my blood, once you are fed I will explain more.”

Dave rushed him, causing John to gasp and shudder as those sharp teeth pushed into his skin and blood began to flow. The witch stayed still as Dave lapped hungrily at the blood, he was patient, used to having to nurse a new vampire or two to help them control their hunger. Briefly John couldn’t help but pet Dave’s hair as he fed and hummed softly.

Once the blonde was sated he let go and John closed his hand over the bite mark to heal it.”that didn’t hurt?”

“Oh it did, but you are not the first vampling I’ve been bit by.” John told him.”I know how to counteract your venom and keep more than enough blood within myself.”

“You are something else John Egbert.” Dave said in awe.

“You have no idea Dave Strider.” John smiled at him. The old soul but new bodied Dave was in for a ride of mystical feats he once denied.


End file.
